Sifting Through the Rubble
by half-human
Summary: Chris moves on after the untimely death of his mother. Set in future0Chris" time-line. Please RR
1. Default Chapter

  
Author: HalfHuman   
  
Title: Sifting Through the Rubble   
  
Disclaimer: Charmed and all its characters are not mine, unfortunately I don't have that kind of power. :) The story is mine, so please R/R.   
  
Author's Note: This is a short piece I did out of boredom and curiosity. It's set in the future-Chris' timeline. Its fluff, but please R/R, I'd really appreciate it.   
  
She was gone, and he was alone. Chris Halliwell was just told that his mother perished 'doing her job.' When he was younger he didn't know exactly what that job was, but he always knew that it wasn't anything normal. Her, along with his two aunts would sneak away during the night and not return till early the next day. However, Chris just found out that this time, his mother hadn't returned. He was in his room, on his bed, staring up at his star filled ceiling. With his mother's death, all of his family' secrets were revealed to him, along with the harsh reality that he would have to face them on his own.   
  
He peered at his ceiling, whose plastic glow-in-the-dark stars never failed to amaze him, and contemplated all that was revealed to him. Magic, witches, demons…him; It was just so mind-boggling! All his life, he was strictly a science and math person; one who rejected theories of extramundane beings, powers, and what not. Of course, he often did get lost in the stars above him, always wondering what could be up there, but the idea that the world he lived in was just as mysterious, adventurous, and evidently dangerous as that of the one above him shook every fiber of reason and logic within him. He turned on his side and couldn't resist the tears that trickled down his cheeks.   
  
Wyatt seemed to be taking the news pretty well-then again, Chris always suspected his brother knew about the world invisible to him. Wyatt was quiet and strange and was much closer to his aunts than Chris was. Wyatt was also close to his father. Chris shuddered at the thought of his father. He never got along with him, why should he? He was never around. And his aunts? They were great, but he only confided in his mother, and now…well he didn't know.   
  
Chris looked at the wall in front of him, across at his bureau. Through watered eyes, he struggled to take in all that he saw. The dresser's surface was covered with dirty socks, science fair trophies, medals, a microscope, a football, and a framed picture of him and his mother. It was an old Halloween picture. He was dressed as a cowboy and his mother had her arms around him, dressed in similar western attire. He looked up the mirror of his dresser and winced at his reflection. His eyes were puffy and red, hair tousled, and he was in yesterdays' clothes. He continued to look up his mirror and his eyes settled on a photo tucked into the side of his mirror' frame. He squinted his eyes and waited till the blur of his tears dissipated. He suddenly opened his eyes wide and whispered, "Grandpa." He delved in his thoughts and analyzed his current situation. He was never a quitter, and hated the state he found himself in. He forcibly quelled the anxiety, hatred, and sorrow that had consumed his every thought, and took a deep breath. Quickly, he sprung from his bed, snatched the photo from the mirror and ran out of his room. He headed straight to the nearest telephone because he didn't have to be where he was, and because he knew he was strong. She was gone, and he didn't have to be alone.   
  
Fin 


	2. 2

Author: HalfHuman  
Title: Sifting Through the Rubble  
Disclaimer: Charmed and all its characters are not mine, unfortunately I don't have that kind of power. :) The story is mine, so please R/R.  
Author's Note: It's set in the future-Chris' timeline. I didn't intend on continuing this story but apparently I _did_ leave a cliffhanger of some sort. I don't really know where this is heading, please R/R though. J

Chapter 2

He was shaking uncontrollably in a corner of his grandpa's living room. Chris Halliwell was crouched, staring at his hands in disbelief. Earlier that day he had went to the park nearby to see if he could make some friends and play a game of football. Unfortunately, his plans had gone awry. His Grandpa had some business to take care of, so Chris ventured out into the neighborhood, unbeknownst to him that the guys he approached to ask for a game of ball were the neighborhood bullies. All Chris could remember was his invitation to a game and then he convulsed as a memory of him running down the street flashed before him. The guys were chasing him, they had attempted to mug him, and he was running as fast as he could. He was scared, he didn't know the area, didn't know how strong the guys were, or exactly what they'd do if they caught him. His heart was pounding in his chest as the August sun bore down on him. It was all playing in slow motion; sweat rivulets running down the sides of his face, the pounding of his worn-out Converse against the hard pavement, the wind screeching in his ear, and the taunting threats of the three boys behind him-gaining on him.

And that's when it happened.

Just as Chris turned a sharp corner he felt a slightly cool rippling sensation overtake his body, and he felt as if time itself had stopped or that perhaps he really _was_ dreaming. But he wasn't. Once the sensation stopped he found himself still in motion, and ran right into a wall of some sort. He toppled to the floor with a loud thud, and had to wait a few seconds before he could open his eyes; he hit the wall hard.

When his head stopped spinning and throbbing, he was able to comprehend what he had done. Chris had just orbed.

It had been a week since his mother's death and he had found refuge from the world of magic at his Grandpa's house.

But he couldn't hide.

Chris was briefed on the magical world and warned about his "powers" before he left to his grandfather's. Apparently, when his mother died, his aunts thought it best to "unbind" his powers as well as his brother's because of potential dangers and the fact that the "Charmed Ones" were history. Chris didn't take his aunts seriously, and thus stood shocked in a corner staring at his hands as if they weren't really there.

"What the hell is this mom? Why?" he yelled through clenched teeth and watered eyes. He looked up at the ceiling as if expecting a response, regretting the tone of voice he used in his harsh inquiry. There was nothing.

Chris stayed in that corner, waiting for his mother to respond, even if she was angry, even if she scolded him- anything, but nothing happened. He stayed there, on the floor, and tried not to cry. He remembered his mother, he remembered his strength, he remembered his grandpa, and so he got up, and dusted himself off. He couldn't cower away and hide. He knew other people had it worse than him, and with this realization he set a new goal for himself: to master his orbing ability.

-O-

Yeah, it was there; that incessant reminder that he was different, but he couldn't ignore it. His magic was like a scar that couldn't be concealed because he knew that it was part of him, and that he just had to deal with it. So he embraced his magic; he accepted his new identity. Chris: the half white lighter witch, son of Piper, the newly lost Charmed one.

-O-

Chris was heading back home the following morning because in two days school was starting school. "High school…" Chris thought amazed, he hadn't thought about school at all. He had been nervous about entering high school earlier in the year, but now he thought nothing of it; it was just something else to get used to. He had almost forgotten that there was an "outside" world that summer. Chris had kept to himself and only spoke with his grandfather since his mother's departure. His aunts respected him when he refused to answer their calls, and his brother… well Wyatt was always a stranger to Chris.

"Mom, I'll stay strong," Chris whispered as he ran up stairs to gather his belongings.


End file.
